I have only recently become a fan of Civilization V. This is a very complex game and only after I did some reseach was I able to enjoy playing it and win. First you must choose which civilization you will build. I generally choose the United States of America led by George Washington. You start with a settler and a warrior. The settler founds a city, normally at the site it is initially placed.

Next you need to choose what technology you will research. Shown here is the beginning of the technology tree. You must have already researched the technology to the immediate left of the technology you choose. Choosing the right technologies in the correct order is essential to winning the game. For instance, you would not choose to research animal husbandry if there were no animals present near your city.

Your city needs to produce something. This can be a worker, warrior, ship, or building. Based on the technologies you research, your production options increase along those technology lines. A popular choice is to produce a Scout as your first item.

Advisors give notifications and helpful advice, especially when you are learning how to play the game.

Social Policies give your civilization a boost in a certain direction. For example, Liberty helps your civilization expand quickly, whereas Honor gives your military a boost.

Once you research a technology and your city produces a worker, that worker can build something on the tiles owned by your city. Your city can also buy additional tiles if you have enough money.

As your units explore, they may run into Barbarians. Barbarians are the enemy of every civilization and city-state. If possible, it is better to fight barbarians with ranged units such as archers instead of with warriors.

Your units will also meet other civilizations and city-states. City-states can be attacked and can attack you, but can also be allies.

Unless you are seeking a military victory where you conquer all the other civilizations, it is best to stay away from war. You can gain influence with city-states by doing favors or gifting money. You can trade with other civilizations. You can also gain a science victory by out-researching all the other civilizations and completing a spacecraft first. As I said at the beginning, this is a very complicated game with many ways to win. Please Post with your comments, suggestions, and pictures.